By Aminata Abu Bakarr
Sierra Leone is a nation rich in natural beauty, cultural diversity, and human potential, yet, beneath this vibrancy lies a deep and persistent disparity that continues to shape the lives of millions: the urban-rural divide in infrastructure and essential services, while cities like Freetown, Bo, Kenema, and Makeni are slowly modernizing with improved roads, electricity, internet access, and social services any rural areas remain disconnected, underdeveloped, and underserved.
This feature explores the roots and consequences of this divide, amplifies the voices of those living on the margins, and highlights the innovative efforts currently underway to build a more inclusive and balanced Sierra Leone.
The urban-rural divide in Sierra Leone is not accidental. It is the legacy of decades of centralized planning, neglect of rural communities, and skewed investments. During both colonial and post-independence eras, infrastructure was designed to serve urban centers and the extractive economy. Roads connected mines to ports not farms to markets. Electricity grids powered government buildings and city neighborhoods, but not rural villages. Rural Sierra Leone was left behind, with limited access to services essential for modern living.
Even after the end of the civil war in 2002, post-conflict reconstruction prioritized rebuilding cities and reestablishing urban institutions. While this was necessary, it widened the gap between urban and rural areas, leaving rural communities even further behind.
The consequences of this imbalance are felt across every sector of society. Urban schools are relatively better resourced, while rural schools often lack classrooms, trained teachers, and learning materials. In many remote areas, students walk for miles to attend overcrowded, underfunded schools. Rural clinics frequently suffer from shortages of drugs, equipment, and qualified staff. During emergencies, residents must travel long distances to reach hospitals a journey many do not survive.
Inadequate road infrastructure isolates rural communities, particularly during the rainy season. Farmers struggle to transport produce to market, resulting in losses and depressed incomes. Water and Sanitation: While piped water systems are expanding in some urban areas, many rural residents still rely on unsafe sources like hand-dug wells, streams, or rivers.
Electricity and Internet: Urban centers increasingly benefit from the national grid and expanding internet access. Meanwhile, large swathes of the rural interior remain in darkness and digitally disconnected, limiting opportunities for education, enterprise, and civic engagement.
Mariatu, a farmer in Moyamba District, explains how lack of infrastructure directly affects her livelihood, we grow plenty rice and cassava, but when the road spoils in the rainy season, we can’t take anything to market, it rots at home. In Lokomasama chiefdom, Port Loko District, 17-year-old Musa dreams of becoming a doctor but his school has no science teacher.
I want to learn,” he says, “but we have no laboratory and only one old textbook for the whole class, these are not isolated stories. They reflect the reality for millions of rural Sierra Leoneans whose daily lives are shaped by systemic neglect.
The Government of Sierra Leone has acknowledged the rural-urban divide in key policy documents, including the Medium-Term National Development Plan (2019–2023), which prioritizes rural infrastructure. However, implementation has often been slow, limited by financial constraints, weak coordination, and a lack of consistent political will.
Decentralization has given local councils a greater role in rural development, but many remain under-resourced and under-equipped to deliver large-scale improvements. Advocates are calling for deeper fiscal decentralization, arguing that empowering local authorities with more funding and decision-making power could produce more responsive and effective results.
Despite the many challenges, several promising initiatives are making headway Supported by international partners, solar-powered mini-grids have been installed in remote districts like Kambia and Kailahun, bringing light to homes and allowing businesses to operate after dark. NGOs like the World Food Programme (WFP) and Catholic Relief Services (CRS) are building feeder roads to help farmers access markets more efficiently, reducing post-harvest losses and improving incomes.
In districts without functioning clinics, mobile teams are delivering basic healthcare, including maternal services, immunizations, and health education, Community-Led Total Sanitation (CLTS): This approach encourages communities to take charge of their sanitation needs, resulting in improved hygiene and reduced open defecation particularly important for child health.
Digital technology offers new possibilities for reducing the urban-rural gap. Mobile banking platforms are increasing financial inclusion in remote areas, allowing farmers and small traders to save, borrow, and transact safely. E-learning platforms and solar-powered devices are being tested in rural schools, giving students access to quality educational materials that were once out of reach.
However, the success of these efforts’ hinges on broader investments in mobile networks, internet infrastructure, and digital literacy programs, Bridging the urban-rural divide is not just a moral imperative it’s a national necessity, a country cannot progress if half its population is left behind. Inclusive infrastructure is the bedrock of equitable development, enabling access to education, healthcare, and economic opportunity.
The government must increase rural investment in national budgets and build the capacity of local councils. donor agencies and development partners should align funding with community-driven needs and long-term sustainability, the private sector should be incentivized to invest in rural energy, ICT, and agro-processing, citizens must engage in planning and hold leaders accountable for equitable service delivery.
The path to a united, resilient, and thriving Sierra Leone lies through its villages not just its cities. Every borehole dug, every kilometre of rural road constructed, every clinic opened is a step toward national cohesion and shared prosperity, the voices from the margins are not just cries for help they are calls to action, the question is no longer whether we can afford to bridge the divide, but whether we can afford not to.
Copy right –Printed in the Expo Times News on Wednesday, June 11TH, 2025 (ExpoTimes News – Expo Media Group (expomediasl.com)
